


Comfort

by Abraham



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:28:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29278473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abraham/pseuds/Abraham
Summary: Higgins decides to help Thomas through his nightmares.
Relationships: Juliet Higgins/Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV
Comments: 7
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I was hoping we would see.

It was late. Or early, depending on how you looked at it.

Magnum heard a knock and for a split second thought it was the white SUV driver.

“My God. Higgins was right. I can’t let this get to me. Like the SUV driver would actually knock,” he thought.

Still not actually certain that the SUV driver _wouldn’t_ knock on the door, he cautiously opened it to find his partner standing on the other side.

“Why are you still awake?”

“Why are _you_ still awake,” he countered. “Besides, I thought you were staying at Ethan’s tonight.”

He stepped aside to let Higgins in. Zeus and Apollo followed her. He gave her a questioning look and then turned to close the door.

Zeus and Apollo immediately settled in on the couch. They were clearly not happy to have their slumber disturbed.

“Why aren’t you at Ethan’s?

“I had some things I needed to take care of,” she said. What she didn’t add was that she didn’t actually go to dinner with Ethan either. Ever since Magnum had confessed to her that he wasn’t sleeping, she had felt this urge to protect him, to take care of him. Ethan had called her out on it. Telling her that Magnum was a big boy who had managed to make it home from Afghanistan. But Higgins knew that he almost didn’t make it home from Afghanistan and that he almost didn’t survive Hannah’s betrayal. He was fragile. She couldn’t tell Ethan any of that though and it had turned into a fight about how Ethan was tired of her always choosing Magnum.

“So I was thinking that we could watch that new biopic on Henry VIII together.” She settled onto the couch next to Zeus. He looked about as thrilled with the idea as Thomas.

Thomas yawned and Higgins smothered a smile. “Come on. Sit down,” she patted the couch next to her, while pushing Zeus off. “Sorry Zeusy,” she whispered. Do dogs roll their eyes?!

Thomas was asleep in minutes. He leaned slightly toward her, his back against the pillows on the back of the couch. Her heart flipped a little as she settled a blanket over him. She could see the shadows under his eyes. 

“Oh Thomas,” she whispered. “You don’t always have to do everything alone.” Ha. That was good advice. Maybe she should listen to herself.  
She had watched most of the movie and was debating turning it off when she noticed Thomas’ breathing had changed. It was coming faster and faster, and he was agitated now too. 

She sat up quickly, afraid to startle him, but also afraid to let the nightmare take over.

“Shhh. Thomas. It’s OK. I’m right here. It’s just a dream.”

He felt her cool hand as it stroked his forehead.

“Higgins?” he croaked, his throat dry from his panicked breathing.

“Yes. I’m here. You’re OK.”

He sat up. “I fell asleep.”

“Yes you did and you’re going to go back to sleep. Do you need any water?”

“No, I’m good.”

He laid back down on the couch, yawning. She fixed the blanket around him and curled up on the opposite end of the couch with their feet touching. She fought the urge to curl up next to him. To tuck his hand in hers. To stroke his hair back from his forehead.

“Thank you for staying,” he said, tapping her foot with his.

She smiled “Any time. We’re going to figure this out Thomas.” And until then, she silently added, I’m going to be here.


	2. Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of Ethan

Higgins continued to spend the night at Magnum’s house. She told him that Ethan had a night shift at the hospital. The next night he was going out with friends from work. And then he was attending a seminar on the Big Island. Magnum studied her while she was searching for another movie for them to watch. No doubt something extraordinarily boring that would put him to sleep in minutes. He was onto to her ploy and was perfectly fine with it. Since Higgins had been staying with him, he actually had enjoyed close to a full night’s sleep two days in a row.

“Higgy?”

“Yeah,” she said, not looking over.

“You can have the bedroom tonight.”

“What?”

“To sleep. You can’t be comfortable on the couch and if you’re indulging my paranoia, you might as well be comfortable.”

She looked over at him. “You should take the bed. I’m fine on the couch.”

“Look,” he said. “There’s no reason we can’t both sleep in the bed. We’ve been sleeping together on the couch, right? I mean not sleeping together …”

She smiled at that. “Fine. We can watch this documentary I found on the Battle of Bannockburn in the bedroom.”

Thomas groaned, but he was smiling.

Higgins came into the bedroom to find him staring at her. 

“Now what?”

“Ethan texted me.”

“What? Why?” She moved closer to the bed like she was going to read the texts off his phone.

“He’s worried about you. He’s tried texting and calling all week. I thought he was at a seminar.”

He took her hand, worrying his thumb across the top. “What’s going on?”

She looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

He ducked his head to look into her eyes. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me Higgy and God knows I want you here.”

She looked up at him as he continued. “But I can’t be the reason your relationship with Ethan gets messed up. I want you to be happy and if that’s you with Ethan?” He paused, forcing himself to continue. “Then I’m happy.”

She realized the ridiculousness of this conversation. She was standing in one man’s bedroom talking about another man. The thing was, she hadn’t even missed Ethan. Thomas was still holding her hand. She looked at their hands together and felt her eyes water.

He squeezed her hand and tugged her gently until she was sitting next to him. “Talk to me Higgy.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t love Ethan. I think I was trying to convince myself that I did.”

Thomas felt the weight that had been pressing down on his chest lift at her words.

“It took me so long to find someone and I really wanted it to work, but it just isn’t.”

She looked over at Thomas. “No commentary? No I told you so?”

“Definitely not from me,” he said, squeezing her hand again. Then he dropped it and pulled back the covers climbing under on his side. “What do you say we skip the movie tonight?”

She climbed under the covers on the other side of the bed.

They both lay silently for a few minutes. 

“I guess I’ll tell him tomorrow,” Higgins said. “It’s not fair to him.”

While Thomas was extremely happy that Ethan would be out of his life, he felt the man’s soon-to-be heartache. Once you had Higgins in your life, it was hard to imagine that life without her. He knew that better than anyone.

“We make quite the pair,” she said.

He chuckled in the dark. Then suddenly he felt her lacing her fingers through his and holding his hand tightly.

“Good night Thomas.”


End file.
